Chapter 5, The Boy and the Old Man

Oh, what are you doing

Supporting the old man, Sun Le finally let go of his hand when they reached the yam vine. The old man, trembling, walked in front of the frail boy, squatted down to look into his eyes, and asked: "Weak child, why didn't you listen to your grandfather and ran up the mountain by yourself?"

On the small hillside to the left, there stood a boy of about eleven or twelve years old. The boy appeared somewhat frail, with a pair of bright black eyes that were moving nimbly. His delicate, slightly sallow face was speckled with dirt in various places.

Only then did an old man, around sixty or seventy years of age, appear on the hillside from which the young man had just jumped. He was hunched over, with white hair and a face lined with wrinkles.

However, this is also an unavoidable situation. She just wandered around the western courtyard and did not see even a shadow of ironware. Wiping the sweat from her brow, Sun Le turned her gaze towards the nearby woods and thought to herself: It would be good if I could find some bamboo to dig up a bit.

The old man looked at the yam vine and said with a hint of surprise, "This, this root can be eaten?"

The old man pondered for a moment, "Bronze and iron tools should be easy to dig up, but these are all tightly guarded. People like us cannot casually take them for use." Upon hearing this, Sun Le felt a chill in his heart: Oh my, what kind of place is this? Even bronze and iron tools are tightly guarded?

Sun Le shook his head and said softly, "It is not like that, Grandpa. I am not hungry right now; I just need to figure out a way to get something to eat."

The old man fumbled for a long time and finally pulled out a piece of bamboo from his bosom. His eyesight was somewhat dim, and he held the bamboo piece at arm's length, squinting at it as he said: "Girl, you can't read, can you? Grandpa has a method for breathing exercises here."

Even so, the old man, being so old, must find it quite difficult to walk. Sun Le thought to herself. However, this matter had nothing to do with her; this thought merely passed through her mind, and Sun Le set it aside.

The young boy, seeing that she was ignoring him, first pouted in displeasure. However, he was soon captivated by Sun Le's actions. He turned his body and ran to squat beside her, focusing intently on the root of the yam, watching as she gradually dug the soil out.

They are actually still using a stone hoe? Sun Le's eyes widened in disbelief

Sun Le still ignored him, focusing solely on digging the soil. She had never realized how difficult it would be without any iron tools; the tree trunk could only yield a handful of soil at a time. At this rate, it seemed that to unearth a yam, she would have to dig until tomorrow.

The old man did not notice Sun Le's unease and continued, "Grandfather has two stone hoes that can be used. However, it's too far; you should come tomorrow, and tomorrow let Ruo'er bring a stone hoe to help you dig."

He pondered for a moment, then reached into his bosom and began to fumble around.

He turned his head to look at Sun Le and smiled, "Girl, what are you doing here?"

"Who says there is no road?" The young boy stepped forward and pointed to the left, saying proudly, "There is clearly a mountain path over there, which my grandfather cleared when he was chopping wood. You didn't know that, did you?"

Sun Le nodded vigorously and said, "Yes, I have eaten it before, and it is really delicious"

The old man chuckled as he placed half of the weight on Sun Le's body, slowly sliding down the slope with her support

As soon as the boy saw Sun Le's face, he grinned widely and burst into laughter. Amidst his laughter, he proudly hopped in front of Sun Le, covered in dirt, making it impossible to discern his original appearance. He kicked at her and exclaimed, "You really have grown tall, you ugly creature, hurry up and greet me!"

Just as his laughter grew louder, a hoarse voice, frail and aged, came through, "Weak child, who are you talking about?"

Sun Le turned around

The young boy's eyes rolled around restlessly; he glanced at the yam vine and then at Sun Le. When he met her small face, which was covered in sweat and dirt, he burst into laughter again, pointing at her little face and exclaiming: "Wow, you are such an ugly monster, truly an ugly monster!"

The old man sighed, reached out to touch the weak child's head, shook his head, and no longer pressed for questions

As he walked, Sun Le asked, "Grandpa, there is no path in this forest at all, how did you get here?"

Sun Le quietly glanced at the young man and slowly stood up. Seeing that she indeed stood up in response, the young man couldn't help but smile broadly with delight.

Sun Le was eager to seek advice from the elder. Upon hearing him take the initiative to ask, he quickly spoke respectfully: "Grandfather, I would like to dig out this type of grass root to eat, but the tree roots are simply unmovable. Do you have a good method for this?"

Sun Le did not even glance at the young man; she squatted down again and began to dig into the soil with the branch in her hand

The weak child lowered his head, his dirty little feet fiddling in the muddy ground, yet he remained silent

However, just as this thought crossed her mind, she heard the old man continue speaking: "In the past, when wild beasts roamed freely, bronze and iron tools were quite rare, and everyone lacked weapons. Whenever a beast appeared, whether it was crops or common people, they would suffer misfortune. Thus, the venerable Fuzhong invented this method of breathing exercises to enhance everyone's physical strength. Speaking of this method, everyone has learned it. When I was young, I did not believe in it, but I tried practicing it last year and found that I felt much more energetic. Hehe, little girl, listen carefully, Grandpa will recite it for you."

This is a very aged voice, slow, deep, difficult, and labored, prompting Sun Le to turn his head in the direction of the sound.

The boy's voice was raised very high, as if deliberately provoking Sun Le's anger

The old man's movements came to a halt, and he stared at Sun Le for quite some time before finally sighing and saying: "I understand. Child, it is just that your body is truly too weak."

Seeing her standing there in silence, the old man thought she was anxious. He looked over her frail body and let out a slow sigh, "Child, there is no need to be anxious. Are you perhaps hungry? Grandpa has a piece of sesame cake here."

In an instant, Sun Le's heart began to race rapidly.

Upon hearing this, Sun Le's passionate and excited feelings were abruptly deflated like a balloon with a "pop" sound

Having said that, he reached into his bosom and began to rummage around there.

The old man raised his murky eyes to scrutinize Sun Le, observing intently for quite some time before finally nodding at him. An uncomfortable expression appeared on his aged face as he said, "Little girl, please do not take offense; the young one is merely being mischievous, he means no harm."

Sun Le noticed that the hillside was somewhat steep, and at such an old age, she wondered if the elderly man could safely make it down. Feeling reluctant, she quickly set down the branch, took a swift step forward to stand in front of the old man, reached out to support his hand, and in response to his surprised gaze, softly said: "Grandpa, let me help you down."

The method of breathing? Could it be that kind of breathing technique that allows one to cultivate immortality and become a great hero?